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Traveling to Israel is always a special experience. Traveling with a portion of the USA delegation was something entirely different. On a typically demure flight where people mostly buckle in and grind it out the energy on our El Al flight out of JFK was at high levels. Teammates, old friends, and new friends filled the aisles and traded chairs as they exchanged stories and got to know each other as we crossed the Atlantic. How quickly everyone began to bond was tremendous to see and bodes well for the US delegation to the 19th games.

Upon arriving at the Kfar Maccabiah the energy continued, surprising considering most people had not slept more than an hour or two over the past day or so. Team USA Orientation had a festive spirit to it, full of energy and cheers. Teams continued to get to know each other through the night in preparation for day 1 for many teams of training bright and early in the am.

Getting to see some of the behind the scenes work of the managers and coaching staffs has already been a great experience. Amidst such chaos of the first day everyone truly cooperated and looked after each other and I like forward to seeing that continued spirit in our Israel Connect Program.

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